While working to ensure that underserved communities have access to quality dental services, Kool Smiles strives to create a fun, welcoming environment for both children and parents. In doing so, Kool Smiles places a strong focus on recruiting dental professionals who are not only medically qualified, but also adept at providing friendly, compassionate care.

From May 11 to May 15, 2015, Kool Smiles sought to grow its dental team with an online career fair. The five-day event gave candidates a chance to explore over 100 professional opportunities within Kool Smiles' national dental care network, which includes more than 125 practices throughout 15 states and Washington, DC. The career fair presented a number of job openings for general dentists, anesthesiologists, and oral surgeons, among other positions.

Offering employment opportunities for both experienced practitioners and recent dental school graduates, the job fair allowed candidates to discuss Kool Smiles and its career opportunities with recruitment specialists via Twitter. By tweeting their questions to @Kool_Smiles, interested dental professionals gained insight into company culture, employee benefits, and various possible career paths. Additionally, they could access a plethora of informational content on the practice’s career website, www.koolsmilesjobs.com, where candidates can apply for full- and part-time positions across the United States.

A leading provider of children’s dental services, Kool Smiles strives to bring quality, affordable dental care to underserved communities. In pursuit of this goal, the practice offers locations throughout the United States and partners with community health centers to implement and improve dental health services.

Kool Smiles has actively sought out partnership opportunities with community health centers since 2010, when it opened its first integrated location at Community HealthNet in Gary, Indiana. The practice remodeled both the lobby and dental space of the community health center, allowing it to serve more patients and adding a TV and children’s activities to create a welcoming waiting area. Kool Smiles also implemented a new practice management system, as well as updated X-ray equipment. After just three months, these improvements led to an 88 percent increase in dental patient volume, garnering praise from Community HealthNet and legislative support from Indiana lawmakers.

Kool Smiles hopes to implement the Gary model at other community health centers across the United States in order to assist them in turning their unused space into an opportunity to serve more patients. In addition to helping community health centers to fulfill their federal responsibility to provide dental care, Kool Smiles allows them to direct the bulk of their resources to medical care and mental health services.

Kool Smiles has recently teamed with Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, the Deamonte Driver Dental Project and other dental providers in Governor O'Malley's Healthy Smiles Tour, Maryland's program that aims to educate the state's children and their parents about maintaining oral health and finding a quality dental care service provider. Kool Smiles is dedicated to providing quality oral health care to children regardless of their parent's income, economic status or background and was established with the intention of delivering quality care to under served populations. The efforts of Governor O'Malley show a step in the right direction as public service officials begin to take stock of the oral health of today's youth. The Surgeon General has declared an oral health crisis among American children with tooth decay being the most common disease among our young population. With programs like Governor O'Malley's, awareness of this growing problem is increased, both informing parents and giving children unconditional access to dental care and the oral health education that will help ensure a healthy mouth for a lifetime.

Governor O'Malley was driven to spearhead this initiative after the death of Deamonte Driver, a young man receiving Medicaid who suffered from a simple toothache. After his mother was unable to locate a dentist to see Deamonte, he died from serious complications associated with the toothache. Shocked by such a loss, Governor O'Malley has resolved to do everything in his power to prevent these easily avoidable tragedies. Currently, over 50 percent of 5- to 9-year-old children have or have had at least one cavity. That figure increases to 78 percent among 17 year olds. The main goal of the program is to make services available to Medicaid-eligible children throughout Maryland so that they are not refused routine, life-saving care.

Kool Smiles has opened five offices in Maryland to promote the initiative of Governor O'Malley. The Healthy Smiles Tour was commenced at Seat Pleasant Elementary School in Prince George's County at an event in which Kool Smiles of District Heights provided free dental screenings to all Seat Pleasant students.